With a mild winter and Gulf temperatures running a couple degrees above average, loggerhead sea turtles have set new records for early nesting on Sanibel and Captiva islands. Amanda Bryant, biologist at the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) is trying to keep up with the turtles.

“We’re up to three nests now – one on Captiva -- that was the first laid, it was found on April 20, so it was probably laid that evening before and then on Sanibel we now have two nests – the first nest was found April 25 and then I found a second nest out on my patrol so the females are definitely out and ready to begin nesting,” she said.

All three of those nests are earlier than any other loggerhead nests on record on the two barrier islands. A loggerhead also laid a nest on a Bonita beach on April 23, a day later than a previous record there.

“I looked back through the data and prior to this year the earliest nest on Sanibel was laid on April 27 by a loggerhead. Last year we did have a Kemp’s Ridley nest on April 22but I don’t necessarily consider that a good comparison because it’s a different species. The earliest ever laid on Captiva was on April 30,” she added.

While Bryant’s data at the SCCF goes back to 1991, the Marine Turtle Research Group at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has records going back to 1979.

“The earliest nest in our records in Lee County was at the state park beach on Cayo Costa on April 19, 1997,” said Beth Brost, a biologist at the commission.

No nests have been laid yet this year on Cayo Costa, another barrier island.

“I’ve seen a few loggerheads swimming in Boca Grande pass, but we haven’t seen any crawls or nests yet,” said Justin Duncan, assistant park manager.

In all of Southwest Florida, the earliest loggerhead nest on record was at Naples beach on April 4, 2002, Brost added.

The early nesting in those other record-setting years also occurred when Gulf temperatures were at least a couple degrees above average.

“A good comparison was in 2010 when we had the really cold temperatures and the Gulf cooled way down and it took it a while before it warmed up enough for the turtles to begin nesting, so the nests came a couple weeks later than we’d normally see them,” said Bryant.

Since a volunteer on Captiva found the nest last week, Bryant has her team on that island monitoring  every other day. On Sanibel, she is doing spot checking and patrolling until her full brigade of 120 volunteers start walking the beaches at dawn on May 1 to look for the tell-tale tractor-like trail of the turtles.

“Next year, we’ll take a look at the Gulf temperatures because that impacts when they mate and thus when they begin to nest,” she said. “We prefer to be out ahead of the turtles and be monitoring before they start coming ashore so we can be sure we account for everything.”

Since nesting season for the threatened loggerheads has started, island residents and visitors need to remember to keep lighting low; bring in beach furniture; fill in holes dug on the beach and knock down sand castles at the end of the day. Each coastal county has similar ordinances mandating such behavior.

“Remember, if you’re out on the beach at night to be careful if you see a turtle -- don’t necessarily approach it. If you keep a respectful distance, you’ll still be able to watch and she’ll be able to finish nesting,” said Bryant.

Nesting season continues until October 31.